【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 475 About Shadows

Sabo stood up, placed the tube behind him, and said with a smile, "You're too slow, Lucci!"

"We ran into a group of pirates blocking our way, which delayed us a bit." Lucci sighed, then jumped down from the rooftop to join his brothers.

"How dare anyone block your way?" Ace mocked. "Looks like your reputation isn't that great yet."

"Who knows, maybe he was trying to provoke us. Anyway, that guy's mud was really dirty," Lucci said, frowning. It was that guy's filthy mud that made him late.

“Let’s head straight to where the Lu spaceship is docked!” Sabo grinned as he walked with his brothers. “They’re on Coast 42; they should be there preparing to set sail.”

"Then we'd better hurry, or Luffy will set sail soon!" Ace grinned.

“Let’s go.” Lucci nodded.

……

With the help of Chopper and his big bird friends, they quickly evaded the approaching navy and successfully reached the Sunny's docking location within minutes.

Everyone reunited on the deck of the Sunny, hugging and greeting each other. Only Sanji suffered a nosebleed the moment Nami hugged him.

Nami, speechless, let go of him, leaving him lying on the deck to be looked after by Usopp. Then she began cleaning the bloodstains off her jeans, muttering that Sanji now owed her even more Berries. Afterward, Nami gave Zoro a warm hug.

"It's nice to meet you, Zoro." Nami patted Zoro's hard arm muscles. "But your muscles have gotten even bigger!"

Zoro shrugged. "It's nice to meet you too, Nami."

"Oh, Franky... Franky!!" Luffy looked at Franky with surprise, his eyes sparkling. "You... you look like a robot!!"

“Is there anything that interests you? Machines.” Franky said, pressing his nose like a robot to show off the gadgets he had installed over the past two years. He was genuinely happy to see his captain again.

"You can even talk about machines!? I...I really want to press it!!" Luffy jumped up excitedly, wanting to press Franky's robot-like nose, but Nami pulled him back.

"Luffy, what's up?" Nami asked, pulling the excited Luffy aside.

"Franky's out!" Luffy said quickly, then broke free from Nami's hand and excitedly rushed over to press Franky's nose. Watching him constantly change his hairstyle like a robot, he couldn't help but shout excitedly, "So cool!!"

"I'm here, Nami."

"Huh!?" Nami turned her head in shock. "When did you get out?"

"Just now," Qi yawned, "I told Luffy to wake me up after he got on the ship."

"You haven't changed at all!" Nami excitedly pulled Killer into her arms.

With a smile, Qi gently hugged Nami back, then released her, turned to the other crew members around him, and said with a smile, "You guys have changed a lot! You've become much stronger."

"These past two years haven't been wasted!" Nami grinned, head held high. "The Straw Hat Pirates are no longer what they used to be!"

"Indeed, but everyone's the same as before," Qi said with a smile. Then, seeing Sanji lying on the deck with a smile on his face, completely unconscious, he couldn't help but remark, "Sanji seems to have an even stronger love for women than before. What did he go through in those two years?"

"Ignore that guy!" Zoro said speechlessly, looking at Sanji, who was clearly pale from blood loss.

"Sanji!!" Chopper noticed Sanji's increasingly pale face and began to panic. Despite his panic, he quickly gave Sanji an intravenous injection. Usopp stood worriedly beside Sanji, unable to understand why Sanji was bleeding so much from his nose.

Nami looked at the unconscious Sanji with disappointment. She didn't expect that Sanji's love for women would become even more serious two years later. Now, he would start having nosebleeds just from a casual hug.

Qi leaned against the railing, smiling as he looked at everything on the deck. Nami had grown her hair long and was wearing jeans and a bikini top, looking more confident than before.

Chopper is wearing a completely different hat, making him appear slightly taller than before.

Robin looked fairer and happier. Zoro was much stronger than he was two years ago, and the scar on his eye meant he had experienced another story. But in any case, Zoro seemed satisfied, so there was no need for them to ask any more questions.

Usopp has trained muscles and walks with more confidence. The biggest change is probably in Franky. Luffy grinned as he watched Franky constantly trying to make Luffy happy. He was glad to see everyone become stronger and more confident.

Qi laughed, but there was something he wanted to resolve before Lucci arrived. "Everyone, come here for a moment, I have something to say."

"What's wrong, Qi?" Nami looked at Qi in confusion.

The other members of the Straw Hat crew also gathered around, looking at Qi with suspicion. Sanji calmed down and shifted his attention to Qi, which to some extent prevented him from seeing Nami's nosebleed again.

Killer grabbed Luffy by the collar and pulled him away from Franky. Then, looking at the crew members who had all gathered on the deck, he said with a smile, "You know I'm a clone created by Luffy using his shadow."

"Brother Qi, I don't know," Franky said, raising his hand.

“Oh ho ho, I don’t know either,” Brooke chimed in.

Qi paused for a moment with a smile, then continued without changing his expression, "Now you know, what I'm going to talk about is about Lucci."

"What's wrong with Lucci?" Luffy asked Lucci, puzzled.

Nami was the first to react, recalling the conversation between Killer and Lucci on Jaya Island, and asked, "Are you planning to merge?"

Lucci gave Nami an approving look, then said, "That's right, to be precise, it's a return. Lucci created me because of Luffy. His mission for me was to protect Luffy until he became strong."

The others turned to look at Luffy, and could probably guess what Qi was going to say.

Qi patted Luffy, who had been sitting silently on the deck ever since he was pulled over, and said, "This guy is stronger than me now."

"Are you telling us this now because you're going to disappear?" Sanji asked, and the others fell silent.

"Ki, can't you exist forever?" Luffy looked up at Ki in confusion. "Like these past two years, even though you've been sleeping a lot."

“I’m not always here either,” Qi retorted, but then explained, “I can’t exist forever. Before, I would come out for a while and then have to go back into your shadow for the same amount of time. You should have noticed that.”

"Is it not okay to do this now?" Zoro asked, sensing the unspoken meaning in Qi's words.

"Yes." Qi paused for a moment, then continued to explain, "The shadows will automatically return to the original body after the mission is completed."

“But you…” Robin looked at Qi with a puzzled expression, noticing that he was in the same state as he was two years ago, both in appearance and strength.

“Yes, I did not return,” Lucci replied, then explained, “Because Lucci gave me my freedom, I can continue to stay by Luffy’s side in my current state.”

"Then why do you want to come back?" Nami asked, puzzled. "Isn't it good to continue like this?"

“But in this state, the fruit’s power will be constantly being consumed,” Qi said, frowning. And it was no longer consuming his power.

"Will you still be the same after you return?" Sanji took a drag of his cigarette, looked at Lucci, and realized that he hadn't changed at all, neither in strength nor appearance. "Or will you become Lucci's true clone or shadow?"

“That’s right.” Qi nodded, then smiled and said, “Lucci is much stronger now than he was two years ago.”

"I'm stronger!" Luffy immediately retorted, pouting. "I'm stronger now."